PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series

Prof. Michael BATTY from University College London delivers distinguished lecture on science of cities (English only)

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Prof. Michael BATTY, Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London, was successfully held on 1 September 2023. The lecture was moved completely online given special arrangements under Super Tyhoon Saola. The webinar attracted over 300 participants from more than 30 countries and regions. It was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili and Weibo, and viewed by over 11,000 online audience in total. In the lecture, Prof. Batty began by giving an overview of the development of science of cities in the last 50 years. Drawing on the system approach and complex theory, he shared how urban science involves top-down and bottom-up thinking, and is a systematic, complex and evolving discipline built on knowledge in social physics, economics, transportation and many scientific methods that yield theories. He illustrated this with city morphology examples from the UK and the Greater Bay Areas (GBA) generated by large-scale computer models. He concluded the lecture by speculating on some of the challenges with fractal geometry, size and scaling, networks, and building models in the field and suggesting the way forward for the discipline. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research and Prof. John SHI Wenzhong, Director of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute, followed. The audience was inspired to have a fruitful exchange with Prof. Batty. Please click here for an online review. Please click here for the powerpoint slide.

Professor Kathryn Ann MOLER, Vice Provost and Dean of Research of Stanford University, delivers the 7th PAIR Distinguished Lecture

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Professor Kathryn Ann Moler was held on 12 April 2023. The hybrid lecture successfully attracted over 330 participants joining in person and online from more than 40 countries and regions in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. It was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili and Weibo, and viewed by over 11,000 online audiences. The lecture was kick-started by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), followed by a welcome speech by Prof. WONG Wing-tak, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU. In the lecture, Prof. Moler shared the experience of Stanford University in designing the university for modern research teams in the 21st century via fostering collaborative proposal writing; planning for shared capabilities in experimental facilities, data, and computation; and transforming academic structures. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Chen followed. The audience was inspired to have a fruitful and inspiring exchange with Prof. Moler. Please click here for an online review.  

Turing Award Laureate Professor Joseph Sifakis delivers lecture on AI and autonomous systems

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Turing Award Laureate Professor Joseph Sifakis, Emeritus Senior CNRS Researcher at Verimag Laboratory, was successfully held on 3 March 2023. The webinar attracted about 800 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili and Weibo, and viewed by over 12,000 online audience in total. The webinar was kick-started by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at PolyU, followed by a welcome speech by Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering at PolyU and a speaker introduction by Prof. CHEN Changwan, PAIR Management Committee Member and Chair Professor of Visual Computing at PolyU. Prof. Sifakis shared his major work on the formalisation of system design as a process leading from given requirements to trustworthy, optimised and correct-by-construction implementations. He first presented an analogy between human and machine intelligence, followed by a review of the transition from automation to autonomy in the development of trustworthy autonomous systems, and summarised the lecture by discussing the impacts of the artificial intelligent systems. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Chen Qingyan and Prof. Chen Changwen followed. The audience was inspired to have a fruitful exchange with Prof. Sifakis. Please click here for an online review.

Nobel Laureate Prof. Reinhard GENZEL delivers PAIR Distinguished Lecture

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Nobel Laureate Prof. Reinhard GENZEL, Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany, was successfully held on 8 February 2023. The webinar attracted over 500 participants from more than 60 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Macau, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili and Weibo, and viewed by over 18,000 online audience in total. The webinar was kick-started by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at PolyU, followed by a welcome speech by Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, President of PolyU, and a speaker introduction by Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering at PolyU. Prof. Genzel shared his 40-year journey in testing the massive black hole paradigm in the galactic centre. He discussed the development of the relevant research by different scientists, from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking, as well as how he and his colleagues conducted precise, long-term studies using the motions of gas and stars as test particles of the space time, showing the existence of a four million solar mass object. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Chao and Prof. Chen followed. The audience was inspired to have a fruitful exchange with Prof. Genzel. Please click here for an online review.

President of Westlake University, Prof. SHI Yigong delivers the PAIR Distinguished Lecture

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Prof. SHI Yigong, President of Westlake University, China, was successfully held on 6 December 2022. The webinar attracted over 420 participants from over 40 countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, China, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc. The lecture was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, Baidu, Weibo and Weixin, and viewed by over 131,000 online audience in total.  The webinar was attended by senior administrators from local and overseas universities, who had a short exchange with President Shi before the lecture. They include: (in alphabetical order by last name) Prof. Kevin ASHFORD-ROWE, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Digital Learning) of Queensland University of Technology, Australia Prof. Patrick CHAU, Vice Provost for Research & Knowledge Exchange of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, China Prof. Geoff CRISP, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) of the University of Canberra, Australia Prof. Simon EVANS, Interim Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the University of New England, Australia Prof. GAO Song, President of Sun Yat-Sen University, China Prof. Paul LAM, President of Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Prof. LIU Bin, Senior Vice Provost (Faculty and Institutional Development) of National University of Singapore Prof. LUO Xishen, Vice President of the University of Science and Technology of China, China Mr Eric NG, Vice-President (Administration) and University Secretary of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Prof. Catherine SUN, Senior Vice President of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong The webinar was hosted by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at PolyU. He briefed the audience about PAIR’s commitment to addressing societal challenges and responding to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.   In the welcome speech, Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, President of PolyU, thanked President Shi for giving a lecture for PolyU, which sheds light to the future of higher education. He stated that the role of universities is not confined to teaching and learning per se. “Universities are responsible for generating solutions through research and technology transfer to great societal problems we are facing … Westlake University aims to become a global leader in frontier scientific research and a reformer in higher education. Their objectives are to take on the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century and vow to find scientific and technological solutions”, Prof. Teng added.   Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering at PolyU, then introduced President Shi, giving the audience a brief background about Westlake University and President Shi’s academic and career accomplishments in the higher education sector.   President Shi began the lecture by providing a brief historical background about China’s education reform in the 1970s—millions of Chinese students enjoyed the new opportunities for overseas education brought by China’s reform and opening up, and students returned home with the knowledge that significantly impacted China’s development in education, science, and technology. President Shi also stressed that China always has a role in human civilisation—as indicated by the four inventions in ancient times. Thus, the Nation should contribute a large share of scientific and technological breakthroughs to the humanities and the world through exchange and collaboration.   President Shi further explained the distinctiveness of the Westlake University. The university pioneered a new model of a world-class university strongly supported by the government, philanthropies, and the private sector. The central government, the provincial government of Zhejiang, the municipal government of Hangzhou, as well as the local government of the West Lake district provided enormous support for the development of the university. The university also established the Westlake Education Foundation to raise funds from all sectors of society, integrating societal resources for promoting the establishment and development of the university.   After that, President Shi talked about the interdisciplinary culture of the Westlake University and gave illustrative examples in terms of the composition of its Board of Trustees and international advisors, global faculty recruitment, as well as student education.   To conclude the lecture, President Shi presented some recent cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements at Westlake University which benefit the world and humankind. These include the analysis of the structure of the receptor of the SARS-CoV-2; the development of an anti-COVID-19 oral drug WPV01; the deciphering of the structure of CatSper, the mammalian sperm cation channel complex; the discovery of the crucial role of bacteria in breast cancer metastasis for the first time; the revelation of the chemical catalytic process before oxygen formation in photosynthesis; as well as the design of a new strategy to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells.   A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Chen followed. The audienc was inspired to have a fruitful exchange with President Shi on the challenges of higher education reform, the positioning of Westlake University, the criteria for higher education success, global faculty recruitment, the importance of governmental support, and student recruitment.   Please click here for an online review.

The third lecture of the PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series was successfully held on 6 September 2022

The third lecture of the PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series was successfully held on 6 September 2022. We were honoured to have invited renowned scientist, Prof. Li Deren, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Member of the International Eurasia Academy of Sciences, and Professor of State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), to be the distinguished speaker.  The webinar was hosted by Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).  It attracted over 300 participants from 24 countries and regions on Zoom, as well as over 18,000 online viewers on online-streaming channels.  Honourable participants include: (In alphabetical order of their last names) Prof. Fuu Jen Tsai, Provost of China Medical University, Taiwan         Prof. Christian Wagner, Provost of City University of Hong Kong Prof. Richard K Yuen, Chief-of-Staff of City University of Hong Kong Prof. Qingyan Chen, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering of PolyU, briefed the audiences on the establishment of PAIR and the Academy’s determination to address societal challenges and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the opening, Prof. Christopher Chao expressed that “the research works of Prof. LI provide special meaning to PolyU’s research developments.  As our two research institutes under the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), namely, the Research Institute of Land and Space (RILS) and Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT), are working on research projects in areas like land analytics and management and big data analytics with artificial intelligence technologies, and the generation of new solutions which essentially involve the fusion of geospatial information system (GIS) and internet of things (IoT) towards our goal for a more liveable and sustainable city.”  Prof. Li began the lecture by introducing the State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS) at Wuhan University.  He presented an overview of LIESMARS’ history, research focus and directions, organisational developments covering human resources, facilities, research, publications, industrial and international cooperation, education programmes, laboratory’s awards, rankings, and recognition. Subsequently, Prof. Li gave a summary of the emerging trends in GIS in the era of IoT.  He highlighted the characteristic application of communication network infrastructure (5G, IoT, industrial internet, and satellite internet), new technology infrastructure (AI, cloud computing, blockchain), and computing technology (big data, intelligent computing) in different GIS-related areas, such as surveying, mapping, and remote sensing, for the study of people, places, nature, and processes of the earth. Super high-speed cyberspace modelling is the current development trend in GIS. Prof. Li further elaborated on the five characteristics of GIS in the era of IoT.  First, satellite positioning technology will move from the Global Positioning Satellite System (GNSS) to the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) system, and further to the Positioning, Navigation, Timing, Remote Sensing, and Communication (PNTRC) system.  Second, remote sensing technology will elevate from the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) to the Earth Observation Brain (EOB), an intelligent earth observation system. Third, GIS’s map database will be developed to enable accurate 3D imaging and digital twinning.  Fourth, integrating GIS, RS and GNSS for mobile mapping and measurement will bring intelligent robot services.  Finally, GIS that focuses on observing earth processes and environmental changes will later emphasize the observation of human and related activities, such as car flow, heat maps, people flow, etc. Prof. Li then discussed three scientific issues of GIS in the era of IoT afterward.  He pointed out the need for map product that serves the needs of both humans and robots, the technical bottleneck of choosing between classification and semantic description for remote sensing image intelligent interpretation, and the need for geographic big data mining to support sustainable human development in harmony with nature. Prof. Li concluded with his final remarks and advice that future developments in GIS should leverage IoT to provide real-time data, develop smart GIS, explore the value of big geographic data, and adopt GeoAI for a more brilliant earth. The lecture was followed by a fruitful 30-minute discussion, moderated by Prof. Christopher Chao and joined by two panellists, Prof. Chen Qingyan and Prof. Weng Qihao, Associate Director of Research Institute for Land and Space and Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence at PolyU.  Please click here for an online review.    

PAIR Successfully Hosts Its Second Distinguished Lecture Series by Professor David Cardwell of University of Cambridge

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series was successfully held on 17 May 2022. We were honoured to have renowned scholar, Prof. David Cardwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategy and Planning), University of Cambridge, UK, as the invited speaker.  The webinar was hosted by Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).  It attracted over 430 participants from 30 countries and regions.  Honourable participants include: (In alphabetical order of their last names) Prof. Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia Prof. Kent Anderson, Deputy Vice Chancellor Global of The University of Newcastle, Australia Prof. Sean Brawley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Strategy & Planning) of University of Wollongong, Australia Prof. Chetwyn Chan, Vice President (Research and Development) of The Education University of Hong Kong Prof. Caroline Chan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Partnerships of The University of Newcastle, Australia Prof. Haydn Chen, Chief Strategy Officer of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Prof. Tim Cheng, Vice-President for Research and Development of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Prof. Archie Clements, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Health Sciences of Curtin University, Australia Prof. Lianzhen He, Vice President of Zhejiang University, China Prof. Peter Høj AC, Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Adelaide, Australia Prof. Ian Holliday, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) of The University of Hong Kong Prof. Elizabeth Johnson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic of Deakin University, Australia Dr Chao-Hsin Lin, International Advisory Committee Member of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research Prof. Yu-hon Lui, Vice President (Resources and Development) of Hong Kong Metropolitan University Prof. Charlie Xue, Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) of RMIT University STEM College, Australia Prof. Man-Sung Yim, Associate Vice President, International Office of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea Prof. Qingyan Chen, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering of PolyU, briefed the audiences about the establishment of PAIR aiming to address societal challenges as outlined in the 2030 agenda for 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. In the introduction, Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, expressed appreciation for Prof. Cardwell to be speaker of PAIR’s distinguished lecture, he said, “As the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning at the University of Cambridge with a wealth of valuable experience, the vision of Prof. Cardwell is not only important for Cambridge and the United Kingdom, but also for the entire world.” Prof. Cardwell began with an overview of the challenges posed to modern day universities by the breadth and diversity of international further education curricular of pre-university students in which results in evolving of the university curriculum of moving towards problem-based learning. Subsequently, Prof. Cardwell presented his views in the implications for higher education within the context of both teaching and research.  He pointed out that the key to the future of global universities would be their response to education post Covid-19, the move towards on-line and hybrid teaching and reformation of established examination and assessment processes. Universities need to place increased focus on widening participation, transferable skills in teaching and learning, partnerships with industry, and on subject-based innovation as move to an environment-led economy.  Prof. Cardwell further explained that metrics such as gender balance, ethnicity, employability, and diversity of academic content would become increasingly indicative of good university performance, the reason is universities become more selective in the range of courses that they offer.  All of these would lead to wider collaborations between universities and industries to deliver sector specific training for graduate students. To conclude, Prof. Cardwell advised that the future of global universities would be on the basis of their ability of engagement, especially in the increasingly large, collaborative international projects and talent recruitment. Besides, the reduced need for physical travel underpinned by artificial intelligence, mental health and well-being pivotal of students and staff, the ability to demonstrate diversity and quality, as well as the imminence of addressing global warming are also the major factors. The lecture was followed by a 30 minutes fruitful discussion, which was moderated by Prof. Wong Kwok-yin, Vice President (Education) and Chair Professor of Chemical Technology of PolyU, and Prof. Andrew Cohen, Director of HKUST Jockey Club Institute of Advanced Study, Lam Woo Foundation Professor and Acting Dean of Science of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.  Please click here for online review.  

PAIR Hosts Its First Distinguished Lecture by Professor Catherine P. Koshland of UC Berkely a Big Success

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series was successfully held on 22 April 2022. We are honoured to have renowned scholar Prof. Catherine P. Koshland, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost at University of California, Berkeley, USA, as the invited speaker.  The webinar attracted over 350 participants from over 10 countries and regions. Honourable participants include: (In alphabetical order) Prof. Chetwyn Chan, Vice President (Research and Development) of The Education University of Hong Kong Prof. Leonard Kwok-hon Cheng, President of Lingnan University Mr Richard Leung, Council Member of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) Prof. Paul Poon, Vice Chancellor of CLP Power Academy Prof. James Tang, Secretary-General of University Grants Committee Secretariat Prof. Christian Wagner, Provost of City University of Hong Kong Prof. Wang Wei, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (China) of Edith Cowan University; and Prof. Kwan-Leung Wong, Associate Academic Vice President (Teaching & Learning Development) of Hong Kong Shue Yan University. The webinar was hosted by Professor Qingyan Chen, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at PolyU. He briefed the audience about the establishment of PAIR with the aim to address societal challenges as outlined in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly, Agenda 2030. “Universities have traditionally been places where scholars and students delve into individual research topics. Their research has been conducted along disciplinary lines in various faculties and departments, with the aim of expanding knowledge within disciplines. However, this approach cannot meet the needs of today. Thus, PolyU established ten Research Institutes (RIs) and five Research Centres (RCs) under PAIR that aim to generate unique knowledge, develop joint innovative projects, and achieve the SDGs” he explained. Prof. Koshland was then introduced by Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU. “I remember that in 2009, when I was the Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Land Use (now, it has been renamed as Faculty of Construction and Environment, FCE), we had invited Prof. Koshland to be the guest of honour in the PolyU 15th Congregation Ceremony. I am very pleased to meet her again today and would like to thank for her great support to PAIR.”   Using UC Berkeley as an exemplar, Prof. Koshland gave us a distinguished lecture on ‘Lighting the Way with Interdisciplinary Research since 1868’.  One of the hallmarks of UC Berkeley has always been engagement of its faculty and students in research and education that expand in cross disciplines, joining on multiple approaches to address major challenges facing the world today, which is also what we are seeking to do at PAIR of PolyU. Moreover, Prof. Koshland shared with us the ways in which individuals and institutions can engage in interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research and education and how they can be creatively intertwined.  At the beginning of the webinar, Professor Koshland briefly presented the collaboration of co-authored and published of over 45,000 papers in peer reviewed journals with colleagues at over 6,000 universities and research institutions in the world including PolyU. She then explained why, when and how to establish interdisciplinary academic structures and research collaborations in UC Berkeley. “Obviously, to address a problem, you can’t solve without a diverse team, and no single individual can do that, and again, those efforts require collaborative efforts,” she claimed. She further explained that such interdisciplinary team can develop a powerful tool or method that can address many questions across many disciplines. After that, Prof. Koshland talked about the importance of establishing Organised Research Units, connecting with other world leaders via transformational partnerships and transforming the professoriate to recruit the best minds to define new fields of collaborative research.  UC Berkeley faculty can engage in collaborative, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research through its 50 multidisciplinary institutes and centers, 41 UC Natural Reserve sites, and 7 Research Museums. The University also engages a lot with national laboratories, UC San Francisco and even National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Such transformational partnership with NASA not only enables collaborative research in aeroscience, astrobiology, space and earth sciences, AI for flight systems, etc., but also helps attract new faculty and student talent to the University.  To conclude the lecture, Prof. Koshland gave advice on opening competitions between faculty members which can help identify the best ideas, and top management should lead with faculty ideas and strengths.  It is also important to invest in a sizable and manageable set of initiatives strategically.  A panel discussion session was followed.  The session was moderated by Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering at PolyU, and joined by two panellists, Prof. Xiang-dong Li, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment and Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology at PolyU as well as Prof. Yuguo Li, Associate Dean (Research) of Faculty of Engineering and Chair Professor of Building Environment at The University of Hong Kong.  The audience was impressed and inspired by Prof. Koshland and had a fruitful discussion with her in the areas of teaching capacity and compensation of faculty members, key factors of success in interdisciplinary research and education, how can faculty and students overcome the barrier of communication. Please click here for online Review.